[3] In 1981, a $37 million, 41-story office tower was announced for the site of 2nd Avenue between Madison and Spring streets, sporting an "unusual" curved corner for the entire northwest edge, as well as plazas arranged in receding stacked terraces facing south.

[4] In June 1984, real estate developer Martin Selig announced that he would pay $8.4 million to acquire the project in a property swap with Cadillac Fairview and CHG.

[7] The tests, each 15 to 30 minutes long, took place in prepared environments that simulated fires in high-rise buildings and evacuation protocols.

One of the "most significant" of the tests was the monitoring of air pressure in elevator shafts and how this affects keeping smoke out of emergency access areas, as this data was needed for fire code updates.

[13][14] After the sale of the Columbia Center in 1989 to Seafirst Bank, Selig moved his real estate company's offices to the Key Tower.